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Funding Approved For Area EMS Base

Good news for Central and West Oahu communities from the Capitol this month. The state has released funds to the city to proceed with construction of a new emergency medical services facility in Waipio. A total of $3.85 million will be available for the project that will greatly improve medical emergency response time in several of our neighborhoods.

I have been fighting for funds for a new ambulance base station in this location since I first became a senator in 2009. Money was appropriated then, but the previous state and city administrations did not act in a timely manner to allocate the funds. I made sure the money was re-appropriated this year so that this critically important project could proceed as quickly as possible.

Soon after the governor approved the 2013 budget, I met with Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and EMS director Mark Rigg to stress the importance of this new ambulance facility to our Central and West Oahu communities, and to urge him to make sure the state funding for this city project is earmarked right away. The mayor agreed, noting that the Kaiser Clinic in Waipio – where ambulances were based – had asked the city to relocate its EMS services.

The EMS previously based at Kaiser Clinic in Waipio moved to 99-135 Koaha Place in Waipahu Oct. 1. Mayor Caldwell immediately requested release of the funds, and I am pleased to note that what the process was not able to accomplish in three years previously was done this time in just three months!

As it is planned, the new station will serve as an Emergency Operations Center and home base for an EMS command vehicle, with the second floor intended to be a full backup EMS Communication Center. We are grateful to the city and state administrations for their quick action that will help to assure the safety and security of the families in our communities.

Mililani is home to Hawaii’s largest middle school

The state Department of Education released enrollment figures for the current school year, reporting that more than 185,000 students are in classes in the DOE’s 255 public schools and 33 charter schools – an increase of just over one percent from last year.

The Central District, which administers Mililani’s campuses, is the second largest in the state (behind Leeward). Mililani Middle School has the largest enrollment in the state for grades 6-8; Mililani High School is the third largest high school in Hawaii behind Campbell and Waipahu.

Middle School on tour in DC during the shutdown

During October, 75 Mililani Middle School students found themselves on tour in Washington, D.C., When they planned their trip, they had no way of knowing their opportunities to see and learn would be limited because of the government shutdown. But they did have some good fortune with their tour of the Capitol Building – their personal tour guide was none other than U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. They also met U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz as well as Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard and Colleen Hanabusa.